In the 2014 Grammys, Macklemore won over Kendrick Lamar for Best New Artist. Beyonce’s album, “Lemonade,” Frank Ocean’s “Channel,” Tyler, The Creator album “IGOR,” were all ignored or never won Best Album. BTS, one of the most popular boy bands of all time, was dismissed by the Grammys. The list goes on.
The Grammys have continuously struggled with awarding artists, sometimes ignoring those who have completely changed the music industry. Specifically, in 2020, The Weeknd has been snubbed for his album “After Hours.” Similarly, young hip-hop producers like Jetsonmade, who produced numerous Dababy hits, and Jack Harlow’s “WHATS POPPIN,” were ignored in this year’s nominations. However, some artists are over recognized. For example, Billie Ellish, winning five awards last year, is nominated for Best Pop Solo Performance and Record of the Year. Although Billie Elish is very talented, both her old and new songs all have similar sounds.
In addition to the constant misses with the music awards, the industry has had a long history of misconduct, racism, and sexism. Recently, President and Chief Executive of the Recording Academy Deborah Dugan was placed on administrative leave after accusations of misconduct. From four high-ranking women within the Academy, Tammy Hurt, Chrsitine Albert, Leslie Ann ones, and Terry Jones, had written a letter about the sexism in the industry, describing it as a “boys club.”
In addition to the allocations of the misconduct, during the 2018 Grammys, a journalist asked American Music executive Niel Portnow about the pop singer Alessia Cara. His response was “women who have the creativity in their hearts and souls, who want to be musicians, who want to be engineers, producers, and want to be part of the industry on the executive level simply needed to ‘step up.’”
The Grammy’s has had countless accusations about mistreatment and irrelevance for years. Even major artists like Kanye West, Justin Beiber, Drake, and Frank Ocean have boycotted the award ceremony. Progressive, popular artists are abandoning the Grammys, looking for new platforms, which leaves the award show powerless with scraps of music. If the Grammys don’t change their award system and their leadership, one of the most important popular awards ceremonies might come to an end.
